Dive Brief:

• J.C. Penney on Monday announced 50 more of its in-store salons will be renovated and rebranded to “The Salon By InStyle” this year, as it revamps its 750 salons nationwide. The concept includes a remodel of salon areas and an update to salary, benefit and career advancement enticements to attract some 4,000 skilled practitioners, according to a press release.

• The company is also rolling out online scheduling at JCPenney.com and the retailer’s mobile app. Clients can shop for nearly 3,000 salon products, including shampoos, conditioners, styling treatments and hair tools available for home shipping or free same-day pick up in stores.

• In addition to the 10,000 salon associates it currently employs, J.C. Penney will hire skin estheticians, nail technicians, massage therapists, salon managers and educators. 

Dive Insight:

J.C. Penney has benefited greatly from its dedication to the beauty category, which centers around its partnership with Sephora. In its most recent quarterly report, while overall apparel was weak, beauty categories delivered significant comp store growth. “The key component of our beauty strategy is Sephora,” CEO Marvin R. Ellison told analysts on a conference call in November. “The performance in both our existing and new Sephora inside J.C. Penney shops remain great, achieving incredible results in Q3.”

In 2016, the retailer opened more than 60 Sephora shop-in-shops, and it now offers the Sephora beauty experience in more than half of its 1,021 stores — and more are coming. Its Salon by InStyle is similarly gaining traction with customers, and Penney is making a play for the beauty customer by providing more services.

The move is similar to Ulta's nationwide model. In describing Ulta’s brick-and-mortar advantage, GlobalData Retail analyst Carter Harrison recently described the beauty business as a largely a local business proposition. “Shoppers do not want to travel long distances to look at and buy products,” he wrote in a note emailed to Retail Dive last month. “Nor do they want to always buy them online; there is a significant social element to beauty purchasing which means stores remain highly relevant. Ulta has bolstered this relevance with a range of in-store beauty services and a level of customer service that cannot be replicated online and has given their stores much more ‘pulling power.’” 

In his statement about the retailer’s salon expansion, Penney's chief merchant John Tighe said the expansion of the business is an important differentiator and growth strategy for the company. “It gives shoppers more reasons to visit a store and the personal, interactive experience inspires them to spend considerably more than the average customer," he said. "By making the necessary investments in our salon operations and stylists, we can successfully leverage the brand recognition of InStyle to continue gaining market share and create a best-in-class shopping destination.”